Cry of Secrets
by Midnight4595
Summary: New faces begin to arrive at Hayden High School after the tragic accident of one of its student. Little does anyone know that the newcomers roaming the halls are more unique that anyone can expect and none appear as what they seem.
1. Chapter 1: Born Anew

Here is the first Chapter to Cry of Secrets.

I hope you all enjoy.

Disclaimer and I will only say this once: I do not own Naruto or any of it characters. However, I do own the unrelated ideas in this story and my fictional characters.

Summary: New faces begin to arrive at Hayden High School after the tragic accident of one of its student. Little does anyone know that the newcomers roaming the halls are more unique that anyone can expect and none appear as what they seem.

--*--

Chapter 1:

Born Anew

"Go, I'll hold them off!"

"But-"

"No buts! You have to go. For our people's sake."

The young girl looked sadly at the aging man's face, and reluctantly, she rushed further into the forest. Within moments, his body became clouded and replaced by the thick green image of the surrounding plants.

"Please be careful," she whispered solemnly.

Her legs carried her swiftly across the forest floor. She didn't know where she was going. All she knew was that she had to get away. She HAD to survive; it was her duty to her village.

Even from a distance, she heard the struggle behind her – the clash of metals, the shouts of man, the sound of breaking wood…

Although all she wanted to do was help those she was ordered to leave behind, she knew she couldn't. But her heart screamed at her that it wished nothing more than to stop the deaths that now surrounded her.

She picked up her pace, eager to escape the roaring shouts of pain that echoed in her ears before her feet betrayed her to stop and go back.

As she leapt over a log, a shining knife narrowly missed her face, leaving only a shallow scratch on her left cheek. Blood began to line the wound as she searched around her.

"You're lucky that I need you alive, little girl," a deep, masculine voice stated beyond the darkness of the night.

'Oh no! He found me!'

Trying to calm the panic rushing to her body and mind, the young kunoichi pumped a large amount of her chakra into her feet and ran in a blur far from where she previously was. She knew that he would be able to follow her and that all she was doing was prolonging the inevitable if help didn't find her soon.

'No!' she thought in defiance, 'I can't get captured by him. I made a vow to live, and I intend to keep it!'

"I'm impressed little girl," the man said as he suddenly appeared on her right, easily keeping up with her pace. "Very impressed in deed that even at such a young age, you're able to move this fast."

He reached out his hands and firmly held the female against a tree by the neck.

"It's too bad you're speed isn't enough to get rid of me," he whispered in her ear.

"Che," she spat, "Believe me, I won't be caught by you, Orochimaru."

The girl's gray eyes looked deadly at the man, and as soon as he caught her eye contact, he instantaneously jumped back. As he landed, the front of his shirt split in a rip across his chest.

The girl dropped to her feet.

"I won't lose. I can't lose to you."

Orochimaru charged towards the unmoving girl. He disappeared and ran around her in a circle from the branches of the nearby trees, throwing numerous amount of kunai in the process.

The gray-eyed female closed her eyes and lowered into a fighting position. As the first kunai was aimed at her, her body moved in a flowing dance with her open palms deflecting the onslaught of metals.

When the last kunai fell with a soft clang on the ground, Orochimaru transported behind her only to be met with a palm aimed at his heart. He crossed his arms in front of his chest to take the blow, and he found himself skidding back by a few feet. As he came to a halt, the girl appeared behind him and launched a kick at his head. The shinobi flew across the area and came to a stop when his head crashed head first into a tree. A thump was heard as he fell to the ground.

The girl stood above the bloodied body, watching for any signs of a counterattack. As she was about to aim a kunai at his head to make sure he was dead, blood squirted into the air – her blood. She looked behind her at the windmill shuriken embedded on her back. Blood trailed down one of its points and dropped down only to be drunk by the thirsty soil.

"Did you have fun fighting my puppet, my dear?" the same voice stated from behind her.

"No, it can't be," she muttered weakly as she stammered to turn her body around.

Orochimaru sauntered casually towards the injured girl, a spiteful smile placed solidly at his lips.

The kunoichi's eyes widened and hesitantly looked back at the other Orochimaru. What met her line of vision was not him. A dead body wearing the headband of her village laid unmoving on the ground.

'He-he used one of my own comrade's body to make a clone of himself,' she deducted. 'That means…I'm very much in trouble.'

The approaching figure grew blurry and she felt a numbing sensation take over her back and spread to her arms and legs. Before she knew it, her legs collapsed and her body fell face forward towards the ground.

Orochimaru stopped next to her body and looked down at her pathetic condition. Still barely conscious, the girl rolled her eyes up and only saw the large grin plastered on his face.

'I'm sorry…' she last thought, 'I'm sorry everyone.'

--*--

The school bell rang loudly in the students' ears signaling the start of another never-ending day of lectures, teachers, and homework. Slowly, they took their seats and waited for the teacher who apparently still wasn't there.

"Hey, where's Mrs. Lane?" a random girl asked.

"I don't know."

"But she's always here when the bell rings," the same girl stated.

Realizing that the English lessons were not going to start any soon, the same loud conversations started again. And just as they were about to get up from their seats, the door opened and in came a middle-aged woman with blond hair. Following her, however, was another person: a girl with dark brown eyes, brown skin, and curly dark hair tied in a high ponytail.

The classroom noise died down again only to be replaced by curious stares and whispers.

"Everyone," Mrs. Lane said, "Please welcome our new student."

The girl stood at the center front and announced in a timid voice, "Hi, my name is Elyon Clyne."

--*--

End of Chapter 1!


	2. Chapter 2: Life as a Sophmore

Here is Chapter 2!

Enjoy!

--*--

Chapter 2:

Life as a High School Sophomore

"Ion, wait up!" a Japanese girl yelled.

"Well, why don't you hurry up, Isabella!"

Moving her feet quickly, the girl rushed forward until she was at pace with her best friend.

"I swear, you walk too quickly," Isabella said.

"Hn. And I swear, you walk too slow."

"Shut up! I hate you!"

"No matter how many times you say that, the answer is still 'I don't care.'"

"Whatever."

The pair moved past the stream of students and made a turn heading for the girls' locker room. It was almost the end of their sophomore year and they were embracing the arrival of summer vacation that was coming within one month.

They moved towards the open space of concrete complete with volleyball courts, basketball courts, and tennis courts and placed their backpacks against the wall of the girl's locker room. Soon, other students, most of which they were familiar with, did the same and sat down.

"Elyon," a guy named Tanner said, "Handball."

He pointed towards the tennis walls which he, and about a dozen or more badminton players, used to play handball.

"Sorry, but no."

"Isabella?"

"Uh, no thanks Tanner," she replied.

The seventh period P.E. class started like it always did for the past month. Badminton season was over, so now, they were placed in P.E. for their last period of the day. How fun.

"Eh, Bella," Elyon called.

"What?"

"I'm going to play tennis," the dark-haired girl said, "I need to practice since my forehand and backhand are probably screwed over from badminton. Besides, tennis season is coming."

"Ok, Ion. I'll go play, too."

Together, the two entered the locker rooms. Pulling out their tennis racquets, skorts, and tank tops from their own individual lockers, the best friends changed. When they were done, they went to where they had left their bags and asked a badminton teammate of theirs to watch their stuff.

Elyon and Isabella walked towards the walls and past the handball game currently taking place. They took out their racquets and a ball and started hitting the yellow sphere against the concrete wall.

The first few times were epic failures as the ball either missed the wall completely or it was hit too hard or too soft. At one point they even managed to hit one of the guys playing handball.

"Wow, we suck," Elyon stated.

Her friend gave out a quiet laugh.

"Hey, it's not our fault. We haven't played since December and it's May now."

"Bella," the other girl paused, "We can't even keep the ball alive for more than three hits."

"Oh, we'll get better."

"Sure, sure."

The Japanese teenager and the American girl continued on with their "game," if you could even call it that.

When the ten-minute bell rang, the two stopped and headed back to get their stuff and change.

As they walked towards the lockers, Isabella said, "Hey, why was Andrew looking at you when we were playing?"

"Andrew? He was looking at me?" Elyon looked at the other female, her interest peaked.

"Yeah, he looked at you like five times when they were playing handball."

"I didn't notice. Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure, Ion," Isabella answered.

"Don't worry, Bella," Elyon continued, "I don't give guys a second chance unless they give me a good reason to. Besides, he dumped me remember?"

Elyon hid the pang of hurt that began to jab her heart.

"Well, you guys weren't together, together. So you weren't really dumped."

A sigh was heard.

"True, but we were tied at some level. Besides, what is another name for a guy leaving you cause he likes another girl? He fell for Caroline. And that's it. End of story."

"But I don't get it though," Isabella began, "She's so..ugh."

"Mean much, Bella," her friend muttered, but the laugh that escaped her lips betrayed her words.

"It's true. Her eyes are like slits. I mean, I'm Japanese like her, but my eyes are not _that _tiny. And her nose is wide, and her lips are huge!"

Elyon let out a louder laugh.

"Pay attention next time you see her! And you'll see what I mean!"

"Uh huh, but my self-esteem is now screwed up cause IF she's that ugly, and I LOST to her…that just doesn't make me feel any better."

"Eh, Andrew was stupid!"

Elyon smiled.

"I know. But let's get our stuff now and go home. I'm hungry!"

"Which reminds me. Can we go across the street?" Isabella asked, "I want to get a smoothie before I call my mom."

"NO!"

"IIOOONNNN…"

--*--

End.


	3. Chapter 3: Haunted Past

Hope you all enjoy this chapter.

This is where it begins to "start."

--*--

Chapter 3:

Haunted Past

High school students rushed towards the cafeteria lines before they were caught in the back of it. It was lunch time and friends gathered together for a break from the bursts of learning the government required them to have.

Elyon, Isabella, and Leena, the third member of their circle of close friends, walked into the center of the school plaza and sat down. Leena left shortly after to get in line. Elyon and Isabella, on the other hand, remained at the spot to watch their stuff. They normally didn't eat the cafeteria food.

"Man, I want food," Elyon stated hungrily.

"Why don't you buy some then?" came Isabella's instant response.

"I can't. I'm trying to save up cause I have school fees to still pay, and I don't want to ask my parents for money."

"Oh, I see."

Elyon lowered her eyebrows and pouted her lips as she tried to ignore the empty feeling of her stomach.

Caroline soon entered the scene and began chatting with Andrew and his group of friends as they ate lunch just a couple of feet in front of where Elyon and Isabella sat.

"Easy Ion," Isabella tried to sooth the boiling temper she felt coming off her friend.

"Don't worry, I'm calm! I am _so_ calm," was the defiant answer.

"Really? I can tell."

"Oh, shh up Bella!"

"Hahahaha."

"Are you two arguing, again?"

"Noooo, Leena. We're just having a healthy debate," Elyon said.

"Elyon, you don't like debates," the Mexican girl replied.

"Well, if they're healthy I don't mind."

The two other girls stared blankly at the retarded answer.

"Okkk, then."

A normal day at Hayden High as the three girls conversed during the remainder of lunch, most of which was spent teasing Elyon about her odd ways and remarks. Elyon was the knot keeping Isabella and Leena and their group together. So naturally, both girls felt extremely close to her…and her strangeness.

When P.E. came again, Elyon and Isabella practiced tennis like they'd done before.

The yellow ball bounced from the wall with Elyon running to hit it. Just as she was about to swing, she felt her feet land on a small hole in the concrete. Her racquet flew out of her hands and clattered noisily on the cement.

When she thought that she would surely hit the ground, she braced her arms and hands forward and closed her eyes. But what she landed on was not the harsh, cold concrete, but something warm and firm but gentle. Elyon looked up and was met with blue eyes.

'Those eyes. His face. They seem so familiar…'

"Are you alright?"

'The cadence of his voice…'

Her eyes widened in recognition and she pushed herself of the chest – his chest – that she had landed on, and unknowingly freed her body from the embrace of his arms.

"Yo-you!" Elyon managed to choke out.

The boy, who had blackish and spiked hair, smirked at her reaction.

"Ion! Did you hurt yourself?" yelled Isabella, as she ran and placed herself directly in front of her friend to check if she had sustained any injuries.

"Are you okay, Ion?" came another male's voice.

'Andrew?' Elyon registered in her mind as she looked to her right where the handball game was going on.

There, she found many staring eyes, but light brown orbs were the ones that stood out to her. Apparently her clumsiness had attracted a lot of attention.

"I'm fine. Really. I didn't actually fall or anything," she answered both her best friend, Andrew, and anyone else who was going to ask if she was ok.

"You would have actually fallen if it wasn't for…" Isabella trailed off, looking at the mysterious boy that had saved her friend.

He was now the center of the attention.

"Blake," he said, "My name's Blake."

"Well, thank you, Blake," Isabella said.

Having apparently been waiting for Elyon to say her own thanks, which the said girl failed to realize, she added, "Ion, aren't you going to say thank you?"

Lacking control of her body, the said girl launched herself and embraced the boy. Blake returned her action without hesitance but with only a mild sign of surprise.

Elyon shook her head when it dawned on her that she had practically thrown herself at a guy. She broke the embrace and looked at the ground in embarrassment, clearly aware at the dropped jaws around her.

"_Blake_," she started, "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Sure."

Elyon took hold of his hand and led him to the baseball bleachers located to the side of the sports clearing. There, far from the range of hearing, they sat down.

Isabella, Andrew, and the rest of the present tennis and handball players at the wall gazed curiously at the two.

"Who _is_ he?" Isabella asked no one in particular.

"I don't know," came a random answer, "But he's pretty hot."

"I've never seen him here before," Andrew mentioned.

--*--

Chapter 3...DONE!


	4. Chapter 4: Remembrance

This chapter is LONG!

Hope that you all think it's good.

--*--

Chapter 4:

Remembrance

"You do know that your friends are already making up a background story about my relationship with you?" Blake's smooth voice stated.

"You do know that Emily, as well as all those other girls, are checking you out. Heck, I think they're already forming a Blake fan club."

"Tsk, that guy seems to be very curious about us, too, you know?" Blake said, "Is he your boyfriend here or something?"

"Andrew? No, don't worry Blake. He dumped me. So no need to be jealous."

Elyon got a soft glare from the boy as an answer.

"I'm not jealous."

"Alright," she answered, all the while pinching his cheeks teasingly.

---*--

"Did you see that!?" a girl said, her mouth wide open.

"Ye-yeah," Isabella responded, her jaw also dropped.

"Wow, never thought I'd see Elyon flirting with a hotty," added another girl.

"Damn, he's taken…" pouted Emily.

"Hey, look!" a guy pointed out, "They're both laughing!"

"I wonder what about," Isabella wondered.

--*--

Elyon and Blake finally recovered from their sudden burst of laughter.

"People here are every entertaining."

"Yes, they're a bit different from home."

"Anyways, it's good to see you again, Elyon," the boy said, the tone in his words taking a more sincere pitch.

"Yes, I missed you and everyone so much."

"I'm sorry it took us a while to find you."

Elyon gave a half smile, nostalgia coming into her emotions.

-*-

"Get away from her Orochimaru!" a younger version of Blake said.

Blake, as well as two others, fought the man in a three to one battle.

"We need to end this fast. Akemi's down. I need to treat her as soon as possible," the female person said.

"I know but two of us can't take Orochimaru on," Blake pointed out as the three of them continued to fight.

"Th-they're here…" Akemi whispered weakly, barely hearing her friends' voices as she fought off unconsciousness.

"Hold on, Akemi," the third individual, a male, yelled.

Orochimaru suddenly disappeared from their line of sight. Cautiously, the three backed up against each other, carefully inspecting everything around them.

The snake sannin quietly appeared from the shadows of the night sky and dove towards the unsuspecting genin below. Just as he was about to launch shurikens, five kunais, each tied to metal wires, were thrown at him and ensnared him in a net. However, just as fast as he was caught, Orochimaru's form vanished and was replaced by only a puff of smoke.

"Master Jiraiya!" the girl cried.

"Go you three! Get Akemi out of here and treat her wounds," the old man ordered, "I'll follow you after I'm done here."

"Right!" they answered in unison.

Blake carried the barely conscious Akemi bridal style, and they took off; the last thing they saw was the roar of Rasengan.

When they had sped off far enough from the battle, Blake held the injured kunoichi while the other female carefully removed the windmill shuriken on her back so as to prevent any more loss of blood.

"This shuriken," she began, "it's poisoned!"

"Can you take care of it?" the other shinobi asked.

"I'm pretty sure I can. Orochimaru needs her, so I doubt that he'd use a very strong poison."

The girl held her hands over the bloody mess, and soon, darkness met the glowing green light emanating from her skin.

Within a couple of minutes, Akemi's eyes opened and she sat up, now barely feeling the numbness from the poison.

"Master Jiraiya! What happened to him?" she asked urgently, faintly recalling his voice just before she passed out.

"I'm right here."

The old man walked out from the covering of the forest and the full moon shed light at his form.

"Old man! You're alright!"

"Che, do you actually believe that I'd lose to that snake!?"

The four children laughed, or in Blake's case, smirked.

However, their laughter turned to horrified gasps as the man fell limply on the ground.

"Master Jiraiya!"

"Old man!"

"Oh no!"

They gathered beside him as he looked at Akemi with half opened eyes.

"Listen to me, Akemi."

The said girl nodded, fighting back tears threatening to fall.

"We can't have you in Orochimaru's hands. And right now, Konoha has no way to provide you a safe place to live and grow the abilities that you have yet to attain. You have to hide somewhere that he will never find you – somewhere where you can prepare yourself to face him."

"I d-don't understand," Akemi stated truthfully, her hands shaking slightly.

"You have to leave this word, Akemi."

The gray-eyed girl gasped. Jiraiya sat up and prepared a scroll he carried in his kimono.

"I'd managed to learn a jutsu that allows our world to connect with another."

"So, you're going to use this jutsu to send her away!" Blake said in a hushed whisper.

"I'm sorry, but it's the only way. We just don't have the power to protect her from Orochimaru right now. She would be safer there. Sadly, she has to go alone. Our village needs all of its warriors right now. When it is safe, we shall return her from the other world."

"Bu-" Blake began.

"No, I'll do it," Akemi announced firmly, "I promise, I will be back."

"Then it's decided," Jiraiya said hoarsely as he laid the scroll in a circle around Akemi.

The two other shinobi looked down while Blake simply looked away as Jiraiya performed the necessary hand signs.

"This isn't goodbye," the kunoichi said as a white light appeared from the ground around her, "We'll all see each other again."

The light engulfed her feet, then her legs, arms, neck, and just as it engulfed her head, kunais showered on her friends and master.

"No!" the kunoichi screamed.

Akemi tried to escape and help them but to no use; her body was no longer in their world. The last thing she saw was them fighting for their lives and Orochimaru mouthing the words "I will find you."

-*-

"That was not the most reassuring way to leave," Elyon pointed out.

A smile formed on Blake's lips, but it did not hide the sadness behind his eyes.

"Jiraiya…something happened, didn't it?" Elyon closed her eyes, bracing herself for what she knew would be a heartbreaking response.

"H-he…saved all four of us," the black-haired teen began, "You. Me. Naruto. Sakura."

A pause. Elyon felt it coming – the bad news about her teacher.

Blake gulped and said, "But he used a forbidden jutsu to teleport you to this world. And another one to save us from Orochimaru. Both ate at all the life he had left in him. This and along with his wounds…made it impossible for Sakura or Tsunade to treat him fast enough."

"I see."

From her tightly closed lids, a trail of tears led down her cheeks.

Akemi opened her eyes and asked, "What about Orochimaru?"

"Alive."

"Does he know I'm here?"

"No, but he knows that you're here somewhere. His men are out in this world searching for you right now. The jutsu Jiraiya used to send you here, we discovered, required a great deal of training and skill. That's why it took Orochimaru and us four years to perfect it."

"Are you the only one here?"

"Yes, so that we don't catch Orochimaru's attention. But the rest of the former genin and a special team would be sent here after preparations are complete. That's why I'm here."

"Preparations?" Akemi said the word carefully, feeling that it somehow held a special meaning.

Blake nodded once.

"Yes, I'm here to get everything ready for their arrival."

--*--

"Dude, they've been talking for a long while now!" Tanner complained, wanting to question Elyon as quickly as he could about the mysterious newcomer.

"Maybe they're catching up?" Isabella threw in, "They seem like they're old friends or something."

"They don't seem like they're just friends," Andrew said.

"Yeah, I kinda felt like a lover vibe between them. Or something like that," a tennis girl said.

A bell rang signaling the end of seventh and the closing of that school day.

"They talked the whole period!" Tanner said.

"Tanner, it's none of your business about how long Elyon talks with anyone," the protective best friend rolled her eyes.

"Hey! Sorry about that," Elyon approached with Blake in tow, "Me and Blake were just catching up. He was my childhood best friend in New York before we moved here to California."

Isabella gave a look that said "I told you so" to the people who had been keeping a careful eye at the pair.

"No it's fine," Isabella answered after.

All of them walked over to get their stuff, while Blake and Elyon conversed with each other quietly as they walked.

Putting on their backpacks, Elyon told her friend that she was going somewhere with Blake.

"Oh, okay," was the meek reply, "Hey, where is he?"

"I don't know. He just said to go wait at the front."

"I'll wait there with you then until my mom comes," the Japanese teen offered.

With that, they walked towards a shady area at the school parking lot where several of their badminton buddies where chatting.

"Hey, where's that guy?" Emily asked.

Everyone looked up at the question.

"I don't know," Elyon responded truthfully.

"Did he leave already?" Andrew asked.

"No, he asked me to go with him somewhere after school. So he told me to wait here for a little while."

"Wow, you have a new boy toy, Elyon" Tanner put in.

The brown-eyed girl laughed when it was cut short by a nudge to her side.

"What, Bella?"

A pointed finger was Elyon's only response. Everyone trailed their eyes to where Isabella was pointing, and it led them to a shiny red BMW convertible cruising to a smooth stop in front of Elyon.

"Common, get in," Blake called when the driver's window was fully rolled down.

"Wh-what?" Elyon gave a confused face.

With his eyebrows quirked at her reaction, Blake unbuckled his seat belt and opened his door. He stepped out, grabbed Elyon's hand, opened the passenger's seat for her, and said, in a teasing tone, "Get in."

"Uh, yeah, sorry"

The female got out of her daze and ducked to get in.

Blake got back in and turned on the ignition. The beautiful convertible vanished from sight as it took a left turn at the first red light. Even with it gone, its effect was still profound to the Hayden student's that had seen it.

"Wowwww," Tanner breathed out, "That was a REALLY nice car."

"I know, huh," Isabella added.

"Yeah, that was a nice car," Andrew repeated.

"I would so ride on that," Emily inputted.

--*--

"You had to come here with an expensive car?" Elyon said sarcastically as she looked at the boy driving.

Blake smirked.

"Apparently, our world's currency is worth more here."

A roll of her eyes was Elyon's answer.

"So you're rich…er."

Another smirk.

--*--

And that's how it goes.


	5. Chapter 5: Goodbye

Kays! New Chapter!

--*--

Chapter 5:

Goodbye

Giggles could be heard as a brown-skinned female and her pale friend walked into the shade of the front building, waiting for their respective rides to arrive. The school parking lot was filling up with students eager to go home and finish the school year tomorrow. One more day of school left and summer vacation would finally free them from the troublesome routine of tiresome education.

However, Elyon couldn't help but feel a part of her wanting it to start over so that it wouldn't end. It was an emotion that had gradually overtaken her mind and desire. But of course, this was not something that could happen. It was against the law of the universe and of time.

"It's not funny!" the brown one exclaimed.

"It was to me," Isabella answered. "So, is Blake picking you up, again?"

"Yeah."

"Where do you guys go? He's been around for about two weeks. And everyday, he's always there to pick you up after school."

"We get food. Talk. Sometimes we go to a restaurant or the movies. Then after, he takes me home," Elyon listed off the top of her head, "And that's pretty much it."

"Wait, tell me again how you started to know him."

"Well, me and him were close friends when my family and I still lived in New York."

Isabella raised her eyebrows. "I know_ that_ part. Give me some more details instead of the overall idea."

"Okay, relax," Elyon gave a face before continuing. "We didn't attend school or anything."

"Then how'd you ended up knowing him?"

After another irritated look, the American girl gave the Asian the I'm-getting-to-that-part-look.

"Anyways, I was little – about four-years-old. While I was walking home from the park which was just down the street from our house, it started to rain."

A nostalgic look came into the teen's eyes as she returned to the memory of that rainy day.

"I started to run home, but I tripped. Before I knew it, I was on the ground, crying. My ankle had apparently gotten twisted. I didn't know what to do until I saw a hand in front of me. I looked up, and this adorable boy was looking down at me, smiling kindly.

"Blake," Isabella stated.

"Yeah, he helped me get back into my house. Apparently, he was at the park also and was returning home when he found me."

Elyon noticed the Japanese youth's confused face. "What is it?"

"Where were your parents? And where were his? You guys were four-years-old!"

A smile was what greeted her accusation. "I was pretty rebellious back then. I snuck out while my parents weren't looking. As for Blake, his house was close enough that his parents could peek out the window and see him on the playground."

Brown eyes squinted at the distance as if lost in their own mind. "Don't tell anybody about this story," Elyon added, as if it was an afterthought. "It's a precious story that I don't want just anybody to know. It was an important part of my childhood. And I mean don't tell _anybody_."

"I see. I promise. But, hey, at least he could become your new crush," Isabella stated with a sly smile.

"Uh huh. Trying to predict my future again, I see."

Isabella crossed her hands and let out a "humph" before continuing. "But I was right about you liking Andrew last summer. Remember? And you said before, and I quote, 'I won't like him. He's not my type.' But look what happened! I was right!"

Elyon rolled her eyes and mumbled a defeated "Shut up."

"Oh, you're ride's here."

"Thank God! He's here to save me from the likes of you!"

"Heyy!?"

The American girl laughed and added, "Just kidding."

Elyon looked at her best friend and gave her a hug – something that she normally didn't do to anyone. She then waved goodbye to her friends standing a few feet away. As she opened the door to the BMW, Elyon heard a series of goodbyes.

"Bye, Ion," called her best friend.

"Bye."

"See you tomorrow."

The brown-haired teen smiled and said, "Goodbye you guys! Bye, Isabella."

"Let's go," Elyon then told Blake.

The red car proceeded to exit the parking lot as it piled in to the line created by the other vehicles intending to leave as well.

Isabella's mom pulled in shortly after Elyon's departure.

"Hi, mom."

Just as she settled herself in the front passenger seat, a loud screech was heard in the background followed by the crash of metal against metal. Isabella and everyone within the vicinity sharply turned their eyes and their attention to the stoplight in front of the school just in time to see a red car being tackled by a van at the center of the intersection.

Isabella's dark orbs grew wide and alert, her mouth hanging open slightly in disbelief.

"Elyon," came her short whisper as tears rimming her eyelids threatened to cascade down her face.

All too soon, everything grew silent around her and the rapid murmurs grew silent. The running adults heading towards the accident also grew slow in her eyes.

"ELYON!"

--*--

I couldn't figure out what else to put in this chapter. So I'm sorry if it was a bit retarded.


	6. Chapter 6: Aftermath

Chapter 6:

Aftermath

"Take a seat and be quiet," boomed the blond woman, "Hurry up! The bell is about to ring."

The students rushed quickly to any random chair that was near their friends. It was an early but beautiful morning of September. However, it wasn't nearly as beautiful for the newly returned and incoming teens. It meant nine more months of brain torture before they could relax again under the summer heat.

"Alright, before I do anything else, I would like to introduce myself. I am Ms. Joy, and I will be your history teacher this year," the blond said, "Welcome to first period and the start of the new year. Now, I'll put you all in alphabetical order."

She ignored the disappointed looks from her students and began reading names aloud.

"Serena Adel. Bryce Allen. Haley Ceres…" her voice continued.

"Hey Isabella," a girl with an extremely long braid said, "How are you doing?"

"Oh I'm fine, Jada," the Japanese teen answered, "The summer did me good."

"Well I'm glad to hear that. But I know you'll miss her. And that's alright. It's normal. Don't worry, though, a lot of people are willing to lend you a shoulder to lean on."

"Thanks," Isabella stated gratefully, "I'll keep that in mind."

"Akemi Kamiya. Andrew Karena."

"Akemi?" Isabella tested the foreign name, "Who's she?"

Her eyes scanned the room as a female with ginger-colored hair sauntered forward and strolled to a seat in the second row.

"I don't know actually. She wasn't here last year. She must be an exchange student or something," Jada muttered. "But hey, she dresses really well."

"Wait, who's that guy over there," Isabella nodded to a guy with dark hair and eyes leaning on the wall in the back.

"Wow, another new student," the braided girl said in shock.

"Look there's anoth-" Isabella was cut off before she could finish her sentence.

"Isabella Tanaka."

She took her seat and realized that there was another new face just several seats ahead of her.

'Where did all these new students come from?' she asked herself.

"Sasuke Uchiha."

The same boy with dark features took a seat. She had to admit it, he was gorgeous. Actually, correction, _beyond_ gorgeous. Believe me, coming from her, saying that is huge. Isabella Tanaka has a reputation of being a good girl who was picky – _extremely_ picky – when it came to guys. She didn't like him, of course, but she knew attractive when she saw it.

And this Sasuke Uchiha is majorly attractive.

"Jada Yalia. Ino Yamanaka…"

This time it was a girl with long blond hair. She was pretty, too.

Isabella looked around her and saw another unfamiliar face.

'Another one?' she thought.

It was a girl with unusually light gray eyes and long black hair. And in front of her was another teenage girl with a unique shade of red hair whom she had noticed earlier.

'Jada's right. This year should be more entertaining than normal.'

A sad, distant look then came into her brown eyes.

'I wish you were here to go through our junior year together, Elyon.'

--*--

'It seems so quiet,' she thought.

"Hey, Bella," Elyon said, "Stop staring off into space. Jeeze, you zone out practically every hour. Keep your mind down to Earth why down you!"

Blinking her eyes, Isabella looked around and realized that it was only Leena talking to her.

"Um, sorry, did you say something?"

The Mexican girl sighed and with softening eyes she mentioned, "It's so quiet now isn't it?"

Isabella answered with a sad "Yeah."

"I know. I miss her, too. She had usually been the one to bring up some riduculous comment when it gets too quiet."

"I agree. But I don't think Ion would like it very much if we keep getting depressed over her," Isabella stated.

Leena laughed. "That's true. She's always been so...so...Actually, there's no word to describe her."

"Yeah, she was preppy. She was geeky. She was athletic. She was emo, at times. She was talkative then she wasn't. She was all over the place," the Japanese teen reminisced. "But then again, her being all over the place made everyday seem so much more interesting. You never know what to expect from her."

"I remembered when she drank that stuff where we mixed fish sauce, milk, soda, and juice together just because you couldn't even manage to take more than two sips of it."

"I also remembered that she ended up spitting it out in the end and started coughing like a maniac," Isabella added.

Leena laughed before continuing. "No, she said that you guys made her laugh while she drank it."

The other girl sighed. "But it was a shame that we didn't catch it on camera."

The two girls giggled upon replaying the memory in their head.

"What are you guys laughing about?" a masculine voice came in.

"Oh, hi Andrew!" Leena spoke.

"We were just remembering some old times with Elyon," Isabella added.

"I see."

"That's all you can say, isn't it?" the best friend interrogated.

Andrew looked away.

Sensing the newly tense atmosphere, Leena decided to play being oblivious and pointed their attention at the new guests of the plaza. Luckily, it worked and not before long, the people surrounding them focused their attention on the group of youngers that now sat just a little ways to their right.

--*--

"I don't see why you want to sit here, Akemi?" complained Naruto.

"Shut up, stupid," Sasuke answered, Akemi giving only a careless look.

"But why here?" the blond continued, "It's soooo crowded. And loud"

"It's only loud cause you're making so much noise," the Uchiha retorted.

"But-"

"Shut up, already!" Sakura elbowed the boy before he could say anymore, causing him to bend over caring for his injured stomach.

"Sakuraaaa," Naruto managed to chock out.

"Listen, just shut up," the strawberry-blond teenager whispered to the naive blond, "Sitting here is the least we could do after what we asked her to do."

The blue-eyed boy shifted his gaze to Akemi sitting a litte ways away. Even though his observation skills were not as good as they should be, he had noticed that the girl had rarely smiled since they had met up with her.

"Fine. But I'm hungry! Where can I get ramen?"

Sakura sighed. "You're hopeless."

"Common, I'll show you guys where to get food. But I doubt you guys will like the lunch choices," Akemi butted in. She had heard them pretty clearly, but that wasn't surprising since Naruto and Sakura are not known for their quietness.

"I'll stay here to watch our things," Rock Lee volunteered with his infamous thumbs-up pose.

"Okay, we'll buy you something," Tenten said.

And off they went - stares following their every move.

"Jeeze, you'd think that they'd seen a group of friends at some point in their lives," Ino mentioned.

"Well, probably cause we stick out," Neji inputted.

"That's not good. Lady Tsunade told us specifically to fit in," Sakura threw in.

"Then how do we fit in?" Naruto asked the basic question.

Akemi looked behind her with a small, amused smile. "It's simple, actually."

"What do you propose?" the Hyuga prodigy inquired.

"We all have to uglify ourselves."

Quiet. Her only response where quirked eyebrows, confused looks, and from Naruto, a mouth hanging wide open.

"If you guys haven't noticed, practically everyone looking at us isn't exactly looking at_ all_ of us," the ginger-haired girl vaguely explained.

As soon as she finished, her friends scanned the area.

"I see. The guys are ogling the girls while the girls are ogling the guys," Kiba simplified for everyone.

"Terrific, so we have to deal with this the whole time we're here? Naruto asked.

"What do you think, moron?" the black-haired male retorted.

"Sasukee," the blond said through gritted teeth, his eyes drawn into slits.

"If you guys don't want to stick out more, I suggest that you don't act as though you were both about to get into a fist fight," Akemi calmly stated.

"I don't care! He's been insulting me since we got here!" Naruto yelled, which, of course, caused more staring by the admiring public.

He shoved his way towards Sauke who looked at him with lazy eyes. Consequently, Akemi took several steps back to avoid being pushed. However, as she did, a certain brown-eyed boy decided to back up. As he did so, his feet met Akemi's legs. The sudden impact caused the Akemi to lose her balance. The boy, however, turned around in time to see her fall in front of his chest.

The gray-eyed girl looked up, and what she saw caused her to push herself away from the embracing arms.

"I-I'm so sorry," she started, "I didn't mean to."

"It's alright. I didn't see you either," he said "My name's Andrew. You're new here, right?"

--*--

Well, this is the beginning of a complicated story. Hahaha


End file.
